Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Eksinayn hands first defeat to Kaffe By Roderick Osis
EKSINAYN erased a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to hand Kaffe Klatsch its first loss in bracket B in the ongoing Baguio Centennial Cup Basketball Invitational, 83-79, to secure a possible twice to beat advantage in the semifinals.
Brian Canias led a third-quarter run to put Eksinayn within seven after being down 37-57, with 2:01 remaining in the third period, 50-57.
Canias then teamed up with fellow Eksinayn John De Guzman to pull the Niners within one after playing catch-up basketball in the entire game, 70-71 with four minutes left in the ballgame.
Canias and de Guzman chipped in 23 and 18 points respectively for the winning team.
Eksinayn then blasted the game away with an 8-0 binge against Kaffe which sealed its fourth win against two defeats in the tournament which puts them in second place behind the Miners' 4-3 win-loss card and Evergold's 2-4 win loss slate.
A win by Eksinayn in their next assignment against Evergold would secure their second- place spot in the bracket while Kaffe Klatsch needs to win its last assignment against the Miners to secure the top spot in the elimination.
A win by Evergold and Miners however, would pull the latter into second place having a win quotient against the two, securing them the No. 2 spot in their bracket with a twice-to-beat advantage.
An Evergold and Kaffe Klatsch win meanwhile will put the Miners in third place and Evergold securing the fourth semifinals berth in the bracket.
In other games, BMRP 3 eked out an 84-81 win proving its mastery against TEJ while Hardcore broke a 53-all count going into the final canto of the ballgame to secure an 81-79 win against Gemini in bracket E of the tournament.
Renmars meanwhile handed Baliwag Lechon a lopsided 122-87 win in bracket C of the tournament after being down by 16 points in the second quarter. Renmars then turned the table in the third quarter to lead by 24 in the third quarter.
